DA Revelations Episode 19  Taken Off
by AngelExposed
Summary: Following the accident, further revelations are revealed about Jessie and her new abilities while Rogue, so caught in a blinding panic, takes off.
1. Chapter 1: Excruciating

DA Revelations

Episode 19 – Taken Off

Chapter One - Excruciating

The pain was excruciating. She was sure she'd felt pain worse, but only in the nightmares that haunted her in the dark. But this...this had to be the worst pain she'd experienced while being fully awake.

Jessie Crowell stared at her throbbing right arm, which was resting atop of an examination couch in the emergency unit of Bayville General. The arm was swollen and misshapen. Something seemed to be jutting out of the top of the arm trying to pierce through the skin. Just looking at it made fresh tears burn the seven year old's eyes.

"It'll be fixed up soon," Miss Grey promised, she ran her fingers through Jessie's long tawny hair and sighed. "You have to be a big brave girl now..."

"Hello," said the Doctor who'd been appointed, he stepped into the small examination room holding a folder – he looked too young to be a doctor. His hair was pale gold and shimmered slightly silver in the harsh overhead lighting. "I'm Dr. Walton."

"Dr. Walton," said Miss Grey, she pushed her hair out of the way of her face, "I'm Jean Grey, vice principle at the Xavier Institute," she introduced.

"I know you by reputation of course, you and Professor Charles Xavier are heavily involved in Mutant rights campaigning," he shook her hand. "This must be..." he glanced at his chart. "Jasmine Crowell?"

"Jessie," said Miss Grey, "she prefers to be called Jessie..."

"Ah," he nodded, "Well, Jessie...lets take a look at this arm..." he leaned down to examine the arm she had lying on the table. "Oh dear..." he gently took a hold of her elbow, "that _is_ a break, isn't it? But don't worry, we can save it..." he smirked.

Jessie whimpered, "it hurts..."

"Yes, I imagine so...I'm gonna give you a little shot of something to help with the pain. It's going to make you a little sleepy though, okay?"

"Okay," Jessie chewed her lip.

Dr. Walton went about drawing something from a tiny bottle into a delicate looking hypodermic. "How did she obtain the injury?" he asked of Miss Grey.

Miss Grey didn't even miss a beat, "she fell out of bed."

Jessie looked up at her; why was she lying about that? That wasn't what had happened at _all_. She frowned.

"If you could just get her up onto the exam couch, please..." Dr. Walton instructed Miss Grey.

Jessie yelped in pain as Miss Grey lifted her onto the couch and lay her back. Jessie watched the Doctor roll up the sleeve of her pyjama top on her left arm, he dabbed her with something that felt cold and wet, then she felt the hard prick of the needle go into her and she gasped.

"It'll all be over soon, sweetie," Dr. Walton promised. Almost immediately she felt the strangely drowsy effects overwhelm her tiny body.

"Does she need an X-ray?" asked Miss Grey.

"Yes...we'll take her through in a moment. Most likely a clean break...but needs reset, and then we can arrange for a cast to be set on her arm. This is an extreme break...how high is her bed?"

"It's a bunk bed...she sleeps on the top...I told her not to jump around on it," said Miss Grey with a sigh.

Jessie gazed at Miss Grey in confusion. She wondered why so many lies were being told – it didn't seem right. Why not just tell the doctor the truth? That it had been an accident? That it was her own fault for trying to touch Rogue...that it wasn't Rogue's fault because she was too strong? The tiredness swept over her again, closer this time, like the warm breeze of wind in the sun, it was inviting. "I feel sleepy," she mumbled.

"That's fine, sweetie," said Dr. Walton. "Just you close those eyes...when you wake up, it'll all be over..."

Even if Jessie hadn't trusted the doctor, she couldn't have fought the intense exhaustion that settled within her.

Jean Grey put coins into the hospital pay phone in the hall outside of the waiting room. She sighed as she dialled the number of Kitty Pryde's cellphone.

Kitty answered almost immediately, "_hello?"_

"It's Jean," Jean replied with a sigh.

There was a shuffle from the other end, and she heard the whimpering of Baby Caleb in the background. "_Oh, hi. How's Jessie_?"

Jean shifted her weight from foot to foot, she was exhausted and could have done without the hospital trip. "She's sleeping; the doctor put her out...she's out like a light," she replied.

"_Her arm_?"

"It's what I thought," Jean answered after a moment, "it's a break – quite extreme. Bone had nearly broken through the skin. It's painful but it'll heal. They're resetting it as I speak..."

Kitty sighed, "_Just as well she's been put out...the pain from that would be pretty excruciating..._"

"Hopefully once her cast is on there'll be minimal pain," Jean said, she then sighed.

"_You sound kind of upset_," Kitty admitted.

Jean leaned against the wall, "just the Hospital's _checking up_ on how she got hurt. I don't think the doctor believes my story that she _fell out of bed_."

"_Does he know that Jessie is a mutant?_" Kitty queried.

"He knew about my work with mutant rights campaigning so he probably knew that Xavier's Institute is a school for mutants," Jean said quietly. "I didn't actually admit to being a mutant myself though...or that Jessie is too," she added a few more coins into the slot to pay for her call.

"_Just tell him the truth...we can't have social workers sniffing around the institute. I'm sure he'd understand how easily a kid can get hurt in a school of mutants..._"

"If she was that prone to being hurt, they would just take her away from us," Jean reminded.

"_And put her where? Back in an orphanage, where they would separate her from the other kids until eventually some mutant hopefully came along to adopt her?_" Kitty asked incredulously. "_There's no way they'd even care once they figured out Jessie is a mutant._"

"No...but don't you get it...if they found out that a bunch of mutants were _raising_ this child irresponsibly...they'd take us to task. They'd take Jessie away and _then _unceremoniously shut us down!"

"_It's not gonna happen. Social services haven't been out here once since the institute was founded; How many orphans have came to live here that social services haven't even bothered to check up on?"_

Jean sighed, "I guess you're right. I'm just stressing far too much...if this is how much I'm stressing I can't imagine how badly Rogue feels right now..."

Kitty responded with a sigh, "_she's upset..._"

"Did I smell _drink_ on her as I passed?" Jean asked in a soft whisper so she wouldn't overheard.

"_Yeah, but she only had like three beers she said...and I believe her. Logan came back shortly after you left with Jessie and he said he'd been with Rogue at McDuggins. He'd have mentioned surely if she was sloshed. Besides...she seemed perfectly sober to me when she was standing there when the thing happened..._"

"I know she wasn't drunk," Jean said softly, "I just...know how it looks."

"_We can hardly be making judgements on Rogue when Remy was getting through a bottle of Jack Daniels near every night,"_ Kitty remarked, there was an edge of bitterness in her tone. "_Doesn't matter how it looks; Rogue would have never put any kid at risk, especially not Jessie._"

"You should go let her know it's alright..." Jean reminded.

"_Yeah, I will – in the morning...well...in a few hours, anyway. She looked exhausted when I left her in her room earlier. She's probably sleeping."_

"Okay. I'll be home with Jessie just as soon as I can...then maybe we can get all this mess cleared up."


	2. Chapter 2: Ship has Sailed

Chapter Two – Ship has Sailed

Kitty hadn't slept all night; Caleb's crying had persisted on and off during the night after he'd been awakened by Jessie's howling. At six am, finally, he had dozed off to a peaceful slumber, Kitty sighed as she sat on the edge of her bed, she rubbed the back of her neck.

_Only another seventeen years and ten months to go, _she thought as she smoothed her hair back from her face.

"Rough night?"

"I haven't slept," Kitty responded, she looked up as Kurt Wagner stepped through her open doorway; she'd left the door open during the night because the radiators in the hall were – for once - working, and since the heaters in her bedroom had ceased to work, it was the only way to get any heat into the room.

"It's cold in here," said Kurt as he shivered.

"Yeah, heating is screwed," Kitty rolled her eyes. "All this technology...world's fastest plane...holographic projections in the danger room...and we have a prehistoric heating system that only works ten percent of the time..."

"It needs replaced," Kurt reasoned.

"Yes...and Hank and Logan tried to work on it, but it means ripping out so much of the flooring to get to the pipes...and all they do is make it worse. Professionals _could_ do it, but-"

"But they would find the wiring to the elevators, alarms and other technology that technically we shouldn't have," said Kurt with a smirk.

"Bingo," Kitty rolled her head to work out the ache in her neck.

Kurt climbed onto the bed behind her and put his hands firmly on her shoulders, "you look frazzled."

"I am. Jessie's screaming woke Caleb up and he's been up ever since. Now he's sleeping, I probably should be too...but I have a lot of stuff to do today. I need to go out and get diapers and wipes and powder...I'm all out of those things...and I have an appointment with the dentist at eleven...I knocked a filling out eating some of Jean's homemade peanut brittle..."

"Cancel," Kurt suggested as he massaged her shoulders, "cancel your appointment, reschedule for a later date."

"I still have the other stuff to do."

"I'll get the stuff...just write it down," Kurt commanded. "You need a break."

Kitty sighed, "no kidding."

"How is Jessie?"

"Jean brought her home two hours ago – she's sleeping for now. Jean is spending the night in Jessie's bed with her to make sure she's okay when she wakes up."

"Poor Jessie..."

Kitty arched her neck, "I forgot how good your massages are."

"Been too long," admitted Kurt.

"I know. I remember when we were dating and I'd had a hard day in the Danger Room or a really tough mission, you'd always be waiting there for me to massage the pains away..." she turned slowly to look at him over her shoulder.

"And here I am again. Always in the right place at the right time," Kurt said with a chortle, he leaned in and kissed her jaw.

Kitty closed her eyes and sighed, "don't. We can't...that ship has sailed so many times and it just sinks every time."

"Why? What was so bad about being a couple?" Kurt asked, wrapping his arms around her from behind. "We had passion...we had romance..."

"It just didn't work, Kurt," Kitty unwrapped his arms from her waist and turned to look at him. "We had passion and romance, but..."

"Y'know, when Piotr became one of the X-Men was when you started to lose interest in me...perhaps...it's the attraction factor..." Kurt frowned.

"No...it's not that. I'll admit it, I _did_ like Piotr, but he hurt me and I could never forgive him for that," she explained.

"If he came back begging for you to give him a second chance, you wouldn't?" Kurt raised an eyebrow.

"No...he's one big fat mistake I made in my life...and that's over with," Kitty ran her fingers along the embroidered pattern of the bedspread.

"I haven't hurt you..."

"You've said some hurtful things..." Kitty shrugged, "But I guess we both have in our time..."

"We should give this another go," Kurt decided. "My feelings haven't changed...and sometimes you look at me and I think maybe yours haven't either..."

Kitty refused to meet his eye, "I care about you – like I care about you a _way_ lot...but...I think my Judgement is maybe a little clouded right now...and I can't let that affect a decision that would later turn out to be a huge mistake."

"Clouded judgement? What is so clouded?"

"This...you coming here and being all romantic and 'lets get back together' and I've been without any romance for nearly a year..." she shrugged. "And Caleb. Sometimes I think I don't know if I can do this alone...and that clouds my head more than any of those stupid other thoughts...and I don't know if I want to be with you _because_ it's been so long since I felt anything for a guy...or if I'm just scared of facing the rest of my life as a single mother..."

Kurt gazed at her, he was silent.

"How could I just decide to _be with you_ again when I don't know if I'd be doing it for selfish gains and all the wrong reasons."

He looked away, considering this, "it's fine if you don't want to...I told you I can live with never being anything more than friends with you. I used to think I couldn't, but...if that's how it has to be..."

Maybe it was just something about the way he said it that made her lean forward to kiss him, or maybe it was just – as she had said – that want to feel something she hadn't felt in so long. She was fully aware of her vulnerability at that very moment but for that time she decided to overlook it and just take a moment for herself.

A knock at the door disturbed them both, and Kitty broke away from Kurt quickly, her face going red as she turned towards the door to face Monet St. Croix, who was standing framed in the open doorway in her uniform, her hair tied neatly back in a braid.

"I'm sorry to _disturb_ you, Miss Pryde," said Monet politely, although there was a very amused smile playing about her lips, and am all knowing glint in her sloe eyes.

"What is it, Monet?" Kitty asked, quite flustered.

"Rogue hasn't appeared for our six am training session...I'm not sure if it would be prudent to wake any of the other X-Men but I sensed you were awake and thought I should come to ask what the team should do."

"Rogue didn't appear for the training session?" Kitty stood up; she left the bedroom as Monet stepped aside to let her pass. She knocked on Rogue's bedroom door and waited for a response. But there wasn't any.

Kurt teleported into the hallway behind Kitty, the smell of sulphur following him.

"Monet...go downstairs..." Kitty commanded. "Someone will be down shortly to run the training program."

Monet nodded curtly and disappeared down the hall.

Kitty knocked again on the door, a strange sense of dread churned in her stomach. "Kurt...you don't think..."

Kurt tried the handle and it was locked. "Don't jump to conclusions..."

Kitty spoke to the door, "Rogue, if you're in there I'm giving you on the count of _three_ to open the door or I'm gonna phase in! One...two...THREE!"

Kitty stuck her head through the door, the cold air instantly chilling her cheeks; she looked around the room, it was in darkness but the window was open and the muslin drapes were stirring in the breeze. "Shit," she muttered.

Kurt teleported inside, landing by the window. "She's...not here..."

Two drawers in the dresser were open; the contents were badly arranged, some appeared to be missing. "She's gone..." Kitty groaned, "she's upped and left."


	3. Chapter 3: Feeling She's Gone

Chapter Three – Feeling She's Gone

When Jessie awoke, she felt strangely numb and definitely more groggy than usual. She rolled over to find that the other side of her single bed was taken up by Jean Grey who was sleeping soundly beside her. The light was on although there was sunlight streaming through the window.

As she moved her arm the pain became apparent straight away and she gasped. She glanced towards her right arm to find it was set in a pristine cast. She made a face and wondered how long she would have to have this on for.

She slipped to the bottom of the bed and put her slippers on and awkwardly got into her robe and left the room. It was a school day...would she still have to go? She was sure her cast wasn't going to fit into the sleeve of that blazer sitting on the chair by the wall. She considered waking Miss Grey but thought the better of it – she was probably exhausted as it was.

Jessie left her bedroom quietly and went to look for Miss Pryde. No one was in Miss Pryde's bedroom and the baby wasn't there in the crib. She paused for thought then went across the hall to Rogue's room, she opened the door and peered in; the room was quiet, the top drawers of her dresser left open and the bed was still unmade.

An uneasy feeling churned in Jessie's tummy. Something felt very wrong.

She sighed and went downstairs, feeling tired and hazy. She checked the kitchen but no one was there; the smell of fresh coffee and toast hung in the air and there was a plate of toast and a few half-empty orange juice glasses on the table. It was past breakfast by the looks of things.

_ I guess I don't have to go to school today,_ Jessie thought. But where was everyone? She checked the library, the students rec room and the X-Men's rec room and no one was there. Even the door to Ororo's attic room was locked meaning she wasn't there.

Jessie sighed and made her way towards the Professor's office. It was the last place she thought anyone might be. As she'd hoped, at least the Professor was there. She knocked politely before stepping in although the door had been open. A fire was crackling in the fireplace and the warmth hit her the second she stepped in.

"Jessie...good morning," said the Professor, he had just hung up the phone as she approached the desk. "How are you feeling?"

"My arm hurts," Jessie pouted, she touched her cast although she couldn't feel even her own touch. She gathered this was probably a good thing.

"Yes, but it'll feel better soon," the Professor promised.

"No one is home apart from you...and Miss Grey; she's sleeping on my bed."

"Yes...they've gone out..." the Professor nodded.

Jessie moved right up to the desk and let her left arm lean against the top of it. "Is Rogue okay?" she asked quietly.

"Rogue is..." the Professor floundered, "why do you ask?" he changed the subject.

"She's not in her room..." Jessie admitted. How could she explain to the Professor she had an odd feeling, like something was different...as if...as if Rogue weren't even _there_ anymore.

Professor Xavier tilted his head to look at her. His expression was strange, almost knowing. "Jessie?" he asked.

"It wasn't her fault...it was mine. I did something stupid and she tried to stop me and...that's _why _it happened."

"Did you try to touch her?"

"I just thought...that I wouldn't get hurt..." Jessie sighed. "And now she's _gone_, isn't she?"

The Professor leaned forward on the desk, "why do you think that?"

"I don't think it...I feel it..." Jessie admitted nervously.

His blue eyes showed his interest. "You...feel it?"

Jessie looked away, "You think I'm weird now."

"Jessie...do you feel things often?"

She gave a shrug in response, she wasn't sure how he was going to take this revelation so she didn't want to fully admit it was all the time...that it had become stronger as of recent.

"Jessie, come on now...you don't have to be scared to tell me things. Now tell me...how often do you get those feelings? Is it just this once...or...frequently?" he wheeled out from under his desk and came around to where she was standing.

She shrugged again and shuffled from foot to foot.

"Jessie?"

"Sometimes," she finally answered.

"Can you hear things that aren't being said?"

"No," she answered, "but sometimes...I can feel what people are feeling even when they don't say anything."

He smiled kindly and took her left hand gently within his own. "Jessie, I think maybe you have more powers than we thought you had...do you understand?"

"I think so," she confessed, "but I don't want to have any more powers..."

"You don't? Why ever not?"

"I don't want to have a lot of powers...I'm weird...kids will think I'm weird."

"Not here they won't," he assured, he squeezed her hand, "here you're just like every body else."

"Not at school, though..." she reminded.

"You're not that different from the other children."

Jessie shook her head, "But I _am _different!"

"Listen...we need to go over what you will tell people about what happened..." he said softly.

Jessie inclined her head awkwardly to look at him curiously.

"If anyone asks...you should tell a fib, and say that you fell out of bed. I know it's lying, and lying is a bad thing to do."

"Why can't I tell the truth?" Jessie asked quietly.

"Because even though it was an accident – and we _know_ you didn't mean it and that Rogue didn't mean it – people might...be concerned."

"Concerned?" she asked.

"Worried," he answered. "They might think someone hurt you intentionally or...that you're not safe here...do you understand?"

"They might take me away?" Jessie asked, she glanced at the Professor with big frantic eyes.

"We won't let people take you away...but just don't let people know what really happened. You fell out of bed...say that to them...they won't question it."

Jessie considered this, and she understood at once. Falling out of bed was much easier to shrug off than what had actually happened...and the Professor was right, people _would_ be worried. She was reminded of a little boy she'd known at the Orphanage not long before she'd been taken to Bayville. His name had been Ben, and both of his parents were still living, but they'd...done something to him that had caused some kind of alarm and led to his being put in the orphanage. He had been too young to really understand what was going on and didn't speak much at all, but Jessie vividly remembered overhearing the social workers in the hallway discussing bruises and stories about 'falling down the stairs'. Had his parents accidentally bruised him and he'd told someone and ended up there because of it?

Was that like this? Would she be taken back to the orphanage because of a silly accident that had been all her fault to begin with? Even if she told her teachers or schoolmates about 'falling out of bed', would she still end up back in Chicago in that horrible place much like Ben had?

"I won't tell anyone," Jessie finally decided aloud. "I promise."


	4. Chapter 4: A Theory

Chapter Four – A Theory

Kitty Pryde was the last one to arrive to the Professor's office; the team had gathered there after their search party for Rogue, Kitty arrived with Caleb in her arms. "I drove around all over the city and no sign."

"Checked all the Motels and hotels in the area?" Scott Summers asked, he was leaning against the wall with his arms folded.

"First places I checked."

"She'd give an assumed name most likely," Logan reminded.

"She always books into hotels under the name of Anya Smitty," Kitty explained. "It's the name on her drivers license, and her credit cards."

"Anya Smitty?" Logan raised an eyebrow. "Surely that isn't her _real_ name."

"Only Remy knows her _real_ name..." Kitty mumbled.

"But _Anya Smitty?_"

"Roman Holiday," Jean commented. "It's from Roman Holiday."

Logan rolled his eyes.

"That old movie with Katherine Hepburn?" asked Scott.

"Audrey Hepburn," Ororo corrected.

Jean sighed, "I checked with the airports to see if she booked herself a flight out – especially _any _flights out to the UK. Ororo checked the train stations."

Ororo nodded. "If she left Bayville, she didn't do it on foot. But she can't fly forever, her body will feel the strain."

"She didn't take her credit cards...they were still in her room when I looked," said Kurt with a sigh. "Her wallet was full of money...she has none with her."

"Geez, she must have been _so _scared to just take off like this," Kitty shook her head sadly. "Without anything, just some clothes?"

"Professor, you must be able to sense her?"

"I'm afraid not. I've been experiencing static with my powers lately when I try to use them from here...even trying to use Cerebro to magnify my powers brings up nothing..." he confessed, "I have a theory about it."

"Oh?" Jean asked, she stepped over, "you've felt it too?"

"It's Jessie," Professor Xavier admitted, "I believe that Jessie might be highly empathic for a mutant her age. She seems quite capable of sensing feelings...and perhaps dampening abilities of others around her."

"Empathic and dampening?" Kitty gasped, "are you _sure_?"

"I suspected it...at least her empathic abilities" Jean spoke up. "She seems to pick up on feelings rather well for a kid so small – and seems to understand things far better than a child her age should..."

"Why didn't you mention before?" The Professor queried.

"I was unsure if I was imagining things. The thought _had_ occurred to me that she might just be exceptionally perceptive in a human capacity..." Jean looked away.

"It seems out of the mansion my powers are far stronger than they are when I'm here..." Professor Xavier explained.

"You're not the only one who's noticed that," Logan admitted. "I seem to be healing slower these days. Cut myself shaving this morning and the fucker still hasn't closed up – usually something like that is gone in minutes."

"Anyone else experiencing this?"

"I haven't really _used _ my powers properly in a while," Kitty shrugged. "They seemed okay when I used them this morning..."

Ororo rubbed the back of her neck, "I find it harder keeping the cold weather away than I used to – which is why December was the harshest winter we have had in years."

Jean paused for thought, "You know...I've experienced this before...but not in Jessie's presence..."

"Do tell," Scott offered.

"When I was helping Hank treat Remy...my headache from hearing too many thoughts cleared up almost instantly...that rarely ever happens. Perhaps whatever Jessie has...Remy has too..."

"Rogue did happen to mention something about Remy's powers allowing him to _kind of_ touch her. She didn't go too much into details though," Kitty said after a moment.

"It would seem their powers both seem to be able to cancel out other powers around them. This could be a good thing and a bad thing..."

"It could be a very bad thing if we're attacked and neither of them can _control_ it," Logan remarked.

"Yeah, but how do you tell a _child_ to control a power she doesn't even _know_ she's using?" Scott asked. "It's gonna be...difficult to train her, isn't it?"

"That may be, but necessary. Then again, if we are attacked by other mutants, they will be rendered powerless by being in this area meaning we would have the upper hand possibly..." Jean reasoned.

"For now the first focus we need to make is finding out where Rogue went. She must be very distraught...we need her to understand that we do _not _blame her for what happened."

Logan grunted, "tellin' ya, Charles...she's probably took off to Muir Island to be with Gambit..."

Kitty shook her head, "no...she wouldn't have done that...she was frantic...worried about what his reaction would be...the last thing she would probably want to do is _see_ him right now."

"Then where is she?" Logan shrugged.

Kitty stared into space. "That's the question. Where."


	5. Chapter 5: Chocolate Milk

Chapter Five – Chocolate Milk

Hank McCoy hung up the phone in the laboratory of the Muir Island research centre; his expression was grim as Moira glanced over from her computer to study him for a moment.

"Is something wrong?"

"It seems that Rogue has taken off."

"Done a runner, eh?" asked Sean, he was standing overlooking Moira's work while he sipped his steaming hot cup of Earl Grey. "On her way here to be with Gambit – again?"

Hank chewed the inside of his cheek, "It's a possibility. But according to the Professor she didn't take her credit cards, bank cards or any money...and according to airport staff, she didn't catch a flight or book a flight to the United Kingdom...so if she...is...coming here..."

Moira scoffed, "och, you don't think she's mental enough to actually attempt to fly three thousand miles with her powers, do you?"

"With Rogue...it's hard to say. She can be oddly unpredictable at times...as I'm sure we all can be..." Hank admitted, he stepped over to the coffee machine and poured himself a cup. "She did take some clothes so it seems she intends to spend nights away from the Institute. But I'm unsure of anything else at this stage."

"If she were taking of permanently I'd think she'd take her credit cards and other important items," Sean noted.

"Unless of course she didn't want us tracing her credit card activity so we could find her. It might have just been an oversight though," Hank took a sip from the cup.

"If she was coming to see Gambit, why not tell anyone?" Sean asked.

Hank looked away. He was reluctant to tell the two what the Professor had disclosed over the phone. "I can't say, for now. How much longer before Gambit is fit?"

"His treatment will be completed this afternoon...but as for being fit? We need to test his reflexes, skills, hearing, eyesight...we need to put him through his paces to make sure that every injury healed up. Lets not forget – the treatment already reversed itself once, for all we know it _could_ again. I can't take that chance."  
"To be honest," said Hank, "I can't see him being eager to stay here much longer than he _needs_ to. He won't stick around for tests and research – he's definitely not going to stick around for the therapy...and we can't hold him here for very long once he's healthy."

"How long do you think we can keep him here?" Moira queried.

"Couple of days at the most?" Hank answered. _As long as I don't tell him what happened back in Bayville._

Jessie Crowell sat at the table and looked at the sandwich in front of her. It was turkey and turkey was another of her most recent hates. "I don't like turkey," she sighed as she glanced up at Miss Grey who was standing at the counter pouring a glass of milk.

"You used to like turkey."

"I never liked turkey," Jessie responded, she was annoyed with the insinuation she ever had to begin with. She hated it when people tried to convince her of things she liked or would like. Sometimes she felt even after nearly eight months with the X-Men, they barely knew her at all at times.

"Sure you did," Jean put the bottle of milk away then went back to the glass, Jessie heard the click of a plastic bottle but she didn't see it anywhere in sight.

Jessie pushed the sandwich away, "no. And Miss Pryde would know I never did!"

"Come on now, Jessie. Behave, please," Jean sighed, she took another moment then brought the glass over to the table and put it down, "drink this."

"I don't really like milk..." Jessie responded.

"Why are you being so difficult today?" Jean asked as she took a seat, she rubbed her head and although she said nothing, Jessie could somehow feel that there was a headache building right at the front of Miss Grey's forehead.

"I'm not. I just hate people telling me what to eat when they know I don't like it."

Miss Grey paused, "okay, so what if I make this chocolate milk?"

"You can do that?"

"Sure," said Miss Grey.

Jessie watched as Miss Grey used her telekinetic powers to open the cabinet across from the table, and a plastic bottle with brown liquid in it floated towards the table and sat itself down. She then turned her attention to close the cabinets, open a drawer, and use the same power to make a spoon telekinetically come to the table and towards her hand. The bottle seemed to drop and lift in the air...as if Miss Grey was struggling to maintain a steady grip upon it with her telekinetic abilies.

"Isn't that...uhm...ambu...amu...aba..." Jessie frowned, trying to remember the word.

"Abusing my power?"

"Yes," Jessie nodded. That was what the Professor called it, he preferred to see things done the normal way rather than cheated with powers.

"That cupboard up there is far too high for me to reach, anyway," Miss Grey reminded. "But you're right, abusing powers is wrong. But lets not worry about it for the moment," she picked up the bottle of dark brown liquid, flipped the cap and poured it into the glass of milk then stirred it with the long-handled spoon until the milk became a light but appealing brown and the smell of chocolate became apparent. "There...now will you drink it."

Jessie picked up the glass and took a long drink. Although it was chocolatey, she could taste something else in it that she couldn't quite put her finger on...a bitterness that somehow just didn't belong there.

"Now...eat your sandwich..." Miss Grey commanded, "And afterwards, you can watch an hour of television and then go for a nap."

"But I'm not tired," Jessie admitted.

Miss Grey gave a knowing smile, "you might feel differently in a while."

Jessie tried with the sandwich but it wasn't all that delicious and she gave up on it. She asked if she could have an apple instead and Miss Grey gave in. With the large golden delicious in her hand, Jessie followed Miss Grey to the adult's rec room, and they settled together on the couch to watch cartoons. Jessie took a few bites of the apple before she felt full, and she tossed it into the trash. She lay her left – and uninjured – arm upon the armrest of the comfortable leather couch and she lay her cheek against the soft cotton of her sleeve, her eyes felt heavy, her head seemed to be slightly swimming. She yawned and tried to focus her eyes on Spongebob Squarepants.

"When is Mr. LeBeau coming home?"

"I don't know," Miss Grey said truthfully, she took off her hooded sweater and she placed it over Jessie to cover her like a blanket.

"Is he better yet?"

"He'll be better soon," she answered.

Jessie sighed, "what about Rogue?"

"I don't know," Miss Grey said again, after a moment.

"It's all my fault."  
"It's no one's _fault_, Jessie. Sometimes things just happen. Sometimes, when you're a mutant, accidents happen even when no one is to blame," Miss Grey stroked Jessie's hair back from her face. "You don't have to feel bad."

"If I hadn't tried to touch her, she wouldn't have hurt me and then got sad and left."

"She didn't leave because of you...she left because she wanted to take a vacation."

Jessie closed her eyes, she knew it to be a lie, but for that moment she felt too tired to care. Rogue hadn't gone on any vacation – and Jessie doubted she'd even taken off to see Mr. LeBeau. Of course, she had no way of knowing for sure where the woman had gone, but something in her gut told her she hadn't gone back to Scotland.

The worries seemed to melt away as the exhaustion seemed to settle over her more and more, as she listened to the antics of the cartoon characters, her mind drifted and soon she was overwhelmed by the need to sleep.


	6. Chapter 6: Done a Runner

Chapter Six – Done a Runner

Hank checked his watch; the time on in his watch stated it was eight-thirty pm, but as he glanced at the clock on the wall in the lab, the large blue digital numbers stated it was only three-thirty. He looked over to the laboratory phone and noted one of Moira's assistant researchers was using it – and had been for a while; he'd been trying not to listen in but had heard the words 'love you' quite a lot and had the distinct feeling the guy was talking to a girlfriend rather than conducting laboratory business as he should have been.

Still, Hank wasn't in the mood to demand the guy get off the line so he could use it, and instead, he made his way out into the hall to use the payphone in the corridor. He put in several coins, and dialled the lengthy code following with the Professor's private office number. He waited patiently for an answer, realising it may take several moments.

"_Hello_," came the Professor's answer eventually.

Hank leaned in to the wall. "It's me," he said tiredly. "Just...checking in."

"_Hank,_" greeted the Professor. "How are you?"

"Exhausted," said Hank, "I know I've been here a while but I still haven't quite adjusted to the timezone yet."

"_How is the treatment going?"_

"It's almost completed – he's sleeping peacefully for now..." Hank rubbed the back of his neck, "the healing process has been quite remarkable to watch. Considering only days ago he had almost completely stepped over the threshold of death's door, it's been nothing short of miraculous that he's healthy again."

_"That is good to hear,_" responded Professor Xavier.

"Any word on the front about Rogue?" Hank yawned.

_"I'm afraid not,"_ said the Professor. "_She took off by flight – Logan was unable to follow her scent._"

"Can't you sense her?"asked Hank.

"_I'm afraid not. Jean has been unable to do so either."_

_ "_So she may have gone considerably far away from Bayville, in that case," Hank thought aloud.

"_For all we know, she may still _be _in Bayville..." _said the Professor.

"And how is Jessie doing?"

_"She's tired...the pain medication makes her feel incredibly drowsy..."_

"The pain will eventually ease off and she'll forget about it."

"_It was a clean break – I was advised it would heal fine."_

"Considering the damage that could have been done with Rogue's strength, it's miraculous it was only a break...so much more damage could have been done to her arm..."

"_An interesting revelation was made this afternoon..."_

"Oh?" Hank asked.

_"Jessie has revealed some new abilities..."_

"Jessie? New powers? Such as?"

"_Being highly empathic for a child her age,"_ answered the Professor.

"Highly empathic..." said Hank, he chewed the inside of his cheek as he considered this. "Interesting – but it does make sense. Jessie has always seemed to be able to tell how other people are feeling. I'd always just assumed she was bright – and perceptive...but it would seem it goes far deeper."

"_Her new abilities may also be why myself and Jeana cannot sense Rogue from Bayville..."_

_ "_Why should that prevent you and Jean from sensing Rogue if she was still in Bayville?"

"_It appears as if Jessie also has the ability to dampen the powers of others around her," _the Professor answered. "_Something that Gambit has shown very slight signs of..."_

"Yes! Of course," said Hank, "I've noted it myself – not of course that Gambit's powers have ever effected my own abilities. But his ability to touch Rogue – even briefly..."

"_I had always assumed that his powers were creating some kind of electro-static barrier between himself and Rogue..."_ the Professor confessed. "_But it seems I'm wrong – Jessie's powers may be hereditary...only simply more powerful than his."_

"Obviously she's not in control of those powers...I imagine they must be unpredictable..."

"_Yes, I don't think she's aware of this power at all..."_

Hank paused, "then again..."

"_Hmm?"_

"She very well _could _be aware of the powers..." Hank said, he took a moment to consider his new theory. "You said her arm got broken when she reached out to-" Hank turned, he thought he heard a shuffle in the corridor.

"_Hank?"_

"Sorry. Thought I heard something. Probably one of the assistant researchers," Hank sighed. "Anyway. You said Jessie's arm got broken when she reached out to touch Rogue...that was how Rogue put it?"

_"Yes. She told Kitty that Jessie reached out to touch her face..."_

"Yes, and instinctively, Rogue grabbed out to stop her of course..." Hank explained. "But what if...just _what if_ Jessie knew that if she touched Rogue _nothing_ would happen. What if...she'd already experienced it?"

_"You think that's possible?"_ asked the Professor.

"I think so," said Hank. "Charles...I know it hasn't _escaped_ your attention that Jessie is a bright child. _Exceptionally _bright."

"_Yes,_" agreed Professor Xavier immediately. "_She's sharp – she picks up on things very quickly and even catching up with school work at amazing levels."_

"So...with full awareness of how bright Jessie is, can you honestly say she didn't fully comprehend how powerful Rogue _really_ is?"

_"Perhaps it was just a misunderstanding about how Rogue's powers work?"_

"No...I believe she fully understood how Rogue's powers work...we all gave her the lectures several times when she first came here. Never touch Rogue...if you do make sure you touch clothes, not skin...we drilled it into her. There was no way she could _not_ understand."

"_So you're suggesting...?"_

"I'm suggesting that somehow...she might have _touched_ Rogue before...and perhaps that it might even have worked. It makes _sense_ why she would take such a risk."

"_Rogue would have known about this surely?"_

"Perhaps Rogue didn't realise? Maybe when Rogue was asleep? Who's to say?"

"Dr. McCoy!"

Hank glanced down the hall, one of the assistant researchers was standing there looking most distressed, her hand in her hair. "I have to call you back..." he said with a sigh. He hung up without giving the Professor a chance to say goodbye. "Yes?" he asked of the assistant.

The red-head gritted her teeth and inclined her head towards the recovery room Remy had spent the last twenty-four hours inside.

Hank raised an eyebrow and passed by her to glance in. The bed was empty, the covers hanging halfway down one side, the I.V. Drip needle had been ripped out of Remy's arm and was dripping out the contents onto the mattress , a spot of blood had dripped onto the pristine white tiled floor. The monitors had all been unplugged at the wall.

_Clever, Remy, _thought Hank. _Unplug all the equipment so that when you remove the electrodes, alarms don't set off..._

Hank turned, and nearly ran into Moira, who had come rushing towards the room.

"He's done a runner," Moira huffed, her face red with fury. "He's knicked our new _untested_ plane and took off!"

"How long ago?"

"Two minutes ago!"

"Fabulous," said Hank, he sighed, "well...I guess it's safe to say that he _probably _overheard everything I said and by now is on his way to Bayville..."

The End - Or Is It? DUN DUN DUNNNNNNNNNN

Thanks to everyone out there who's still keeping up with this story (and keeping it alive!). Can't believe it's already up to episode 19! (and there's more to come). If ya like it or have thoughts on the story, remember to review! Thanks to the ones who've been leaving the lengthier reviews – I love knowing that I'm still keeping you all guessing! :)


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